--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you really want to change a culture to…" description: "\"If you really want to change a culture to empower women improve basic hygiene and health care and fight high rates of infant mortality the answer is to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf9/greg-mortenson-7579_answers_if-you-really-want-to-change-a-culture-t_2847011.jpg" --- # If you really want to change a culture to empower women… ![“If you really want to change a culture to empower women improve basic hygiene and health care and fight high rates of infant mortality the answer is to educate girls.” quote by Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf9/greg-mortenson-7579_answers_if-you-really-want-to-change-a-culture-t_2847011.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf9/greg-mortenson-7579_answers_if-you-really-want-to-change-a-culture-t_2847011.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf9/greg-mortenson-7579_answers_if-you-really-want-to-change-a-culture-t_2847011.jpg) > “If you really want to change a culture to empower women improve basic hygiene and health care and fight high rates of infant mortality the answer is to educate girls.” [Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mortenson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Educating girls transforms societies by improving health, hygiene, and reducing infant mortality, leading to broader cultural change. **In simple terms:** Educating girls improves health and reduces infant deaths. Key Takeaway Invest in girls' education. Themes education gender equality public health development empowerment Mood hopeful determined empathetic Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - rural communities - policy planning - NGO programs - school curricula - community health initiatives Key Concepts human capital social determinants of health demographic transition Questions to Reflect On - How can education be paired with community engagement? - What barriers prevent girls from accessing schooling? A Different Perspective Education alone may not address deep-rooted cultural norms without broader systemic support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Empowering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empowering/) [Empowering women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empowering-women/) [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girl/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Health care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health-care/) [Hygiene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hygiene/) [Infant mortality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infant-mortality/) [Mortality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortality/) ## Related quotes > [If you really want to change a culture... empower women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mortenson/if-you-really-want-to-change-a-culture-empower-women/) [Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mortenson/) > [Once you educate the boys, they tend to leave the villages and go search for work in the cities, but the girls stay home,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mortenson/once-you-educate-the-boys-they-tend-to-leave-the-villages-and-go/) [Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mortenson/) > [I want to make Meerut safer for women and improve the law and order situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagma/i-want-to-make-meerut-safer-for-women-and-improve-the-law-and-order/) [Nagma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nagma/) > [The best way to improve economic prospects for women is to improve job prospects for the men in their lives, even if that means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-schlafly/the-best-way-to-improve-economic-prospects-for-women-is-to-improve/) [Phyllis Schlafly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-schlafly/) > [Inequality can be done away with only by establishing a new society, where men and women will enjoy equal rights, resulting from an upheaval…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sankara/inequality-can-be-done-away-with-only-by-establishing-a-new-society/) [Thomas Sankara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sankara/) > [“Conditions for all women will improve when there are more women in leadership roles giving strong and powerful voice to their needs and concerns.13”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/conditions-for-all-women-will-improve-when-there-are-more-women-in/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [One of the best ways to fight poverty and to fight terrorism is to educate girls and bring women into the formal labor force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-wudunn/one-of-the-best-ways-to-fight-poverty-and-to-fight-terrorism-is-to/) [Sheryl WuDunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-wudunn/) > [If you can educate girls, you can change the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathie-black/if-you-can-educate-girls-you-can-change-the-world/) [Cathie Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathie-black/) > [There are many problems, but I think there is a solution to all these problems, it's just one and it's education. You educate all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malala-yousafzai/there-are-many-problems-but-i-think-there-is-a-solution-to-all-these/) [Malala Yousafzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malala-yousafzai/) > [Everything has to do with education: If you educate the girls, you educate the family, the community, and society, in general.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alek-wek/everything-has-to-do-with-education-if-you-educate-the-girls-you/) [Alek Wek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alek-wek/) > [“One of the more difficult questions I used to find myself being asked as a United Nations official, especially when I had been addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-tharoor/one-of-the-more-difficult-questions-i-used-to-find-myself-being-asked/) [Shashi Tharoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-tharoor/) > [As we crossed the Malakand Pass I saw a young girl selling oranges. She was scratching marks on a piece of paper with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malala-yousafzai/as-we-crossed-the-malakand-pass-i-saw-a-young-girl-selling-oranges/) [Malala Yousafzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malala-yousafzai/) > [We can't afford not to educate girls and give women the power and the access that they need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/we-can-t-afford-not-to-educate-girls-and-give-women-the-power-and-the/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [To educate girls is to reduce poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/to-educate-girls-is-to-reduce-poverty/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [If you educate a boy, you educate a person, but if you educate a girl, you educate a family and benefit an entire community.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-rania-of-jordan/if-you-educate-a-boy-you-educate-a-person-but-if-you-educate-a-girl/) [Queen Rania of Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/queen-rania-of-jordan/) ## More by Greg Mortenson > [Our greatest ally in the Pakistan region of turmoil is the moderate Muslim majority, who we must reach out to and embrace if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mortenson/our-greatest-ally-in-the-pakistan-region-of-turmoil-is-the-moderate/) [Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mortenson/) > [“People who live in the last places-the people who are most neglected and least valued by the larger world- often represent the best of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mortenson/people-who-live-in-the-last-places-the-people-who-are-most-neglected/) [Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mortenson/) > [If you teach a boy, you educate an individual; but if you teach a girl, you educate a community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mortenson/if-you-teach-a-boy-you-educate-an-individual-but-if-you-teach-a-girl/) [Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mortenson/) > [You can hand out condoms, drop bombs, build roads, or put in electricity, but until the girls are educated a society won’t change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mortenson/you-can-hand-out-condoms-drop-bombs-build-roads-or-put-in-electricity/) [Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mortenson/) > [“I don't want to teach Pakistani's children to think like Americans...I just want them to have a balanced, non-extremist education”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mortenson/i-don-t-want-to-teach-pakistani-s-children-to-think-like-americans-i/) [Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mortenson/) > [I've learned that terror doesn't happen because some group of people somewhere like Pakistan or Afghanistan simply decide to hate us. It happens because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mortenson/i-ve-learned-that-terror-doesn-t-happen-because-some-group-of-people/) [Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mortenson/) > [“Abdul brushed the dirt from the American's forehead, where it had been pressed to the cool ground. "Not Pakistan man," he said. "But if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mortenson/abdul-brushed-the-dirt-from-the-american-s-forehead-where-it-had-been/) [Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mortenson/) > [When your kids accomplish something it means much more than anything you've done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mortenson/when-your-kids-accomplish-something-it-means-much-more-than-anything/) [Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mortenson/) > [If you look at the 9/11 highjackers, certainly they were educated, some even had university degrees, but nobody really checked their mothers, who were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mortenson/if-you-look-at-the-9-11-highjackers-certainly-they-were-educated-some/) [Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mortenson/) > [One thing that I noticed is having met some former Taliban is even they, as children, grew up being indoctrinated. They grew up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mortenson/one-thing-that-i-noticed-is-having-met-some-former-taliban-is-even/) [Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mortenson/) > [“Osama, baah!" Bashir roared. "Osama is not a product of Pakistan or Afghanistan. He is a creation of America. Thanks to America, Osama is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mortenson/osama-baah-bashir-roared-osama-is-not-a-product-of-pakistan-or/) [Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mortenson/) > [ “We shall pursue our dreams “until \[we\] reach\[…\] it. Or fail\[…\] trying. ” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mortenson/we-shall-pursue-our-dreams-until-we-reach-it-or-fail-trying/) [Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mortenson/) > [“What we are trying to do may be just a drop in the ocean, but the ocean would be less because of that missing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mortenson/what-we-are-trying-to-do-may-be-just-a-drop-in-the-ocean-but-the/) [Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mortenson/) > [. . . hope resides in the future, while perspective and wisdom are almost always found by looking to the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mortenson/hope-resides-in-the-future-while-perspective-and-wisdom-are-almost/) [Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mortenson/) > [It is my vision that we all will dedicate the next decade to achieve universal literacy and education for all children, especially for girls.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mortenson/it-is-my-vision-that-we-all-will-dedicate-the-next-decade-to-achieve/) [Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mortenson/) [Explore all 89 Greg Mortenson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mortenson/) ## More Answers quotes > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. 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